Chapter 454: On the Way Back to Sell Fish

Ye Cheng also walked over, and the two of them pulled upward together.

The fishing net was already heavy, and with the water and catch, it became even harder to drag.

The two of them used a lot of strength to pull the catch out of the water, and a full net of hairtail spilled onto the deck.

"Wow! That's a lot!" Xiao Hu exclaimed.

"Hahaha, A Cheng, wasn't that a nice cast of my net?" Duan Chunsheng burst out laughing.

Ye Cheng gave him a thumbs-up,

"Still going strong at his age!"

"Hurry up, put the hairtail into the hold, we'll cast another net."

Ye Cheng looked at the distant school of fish; they were still on the surface, so we could cast another net.

Duan Chunsheng was tidying the net, Xiao Hu reduced the boat's speed, and then he and Ye Cheng pushed the hairtail inside.

There was too much, there was no choice, so doing it this way was the most convenient.

After the two finished, Duan Chunsheng was also ready; Xiao Hu went over, started accelerating, and caught up with the fish school again.

Duan Chunsheng didn't hold back either, making another nice cast; the net opened wider than before.

This net yielded even more; Xiao Hu came over to lend a hand before they could haul it up.

"How about it, Uncle? Can we keep going? The fish school seems still there."

This time the hairtail school, I don't know what's going on—after two casts, they're still chasing on the surface.

"Go for it! The fish school is plentiful—don't worry about my back, it's fine!"

The three of them caught up with the fish school for a third time, but this time the school had clearly spread out, its density lower.

So even though Duan Chunsheng made a nice cast this time, the haul was somewhat less than the previous two nets.

After this net, the fish school seemed to realize something was wrong and dove down together.

Duan Chunsheng was still a bit unsatisfied,

"It's already over? Let me have a few more tries."

"Uncle, next time let's equip a sonar, then we'll chase the fish!"

As soon as Ye Cheng mentioned sonar, Duan Chunsheng immediately raised his hand in approval,

"That's good; if we had sonar, we could trail right behind them and net them all in one go."

Actually, sonar is a standard method for fishing at sea, but ordinary fishing boats' sonar is a bit lacking, sometimes less useful than experience.

Now that Ye Cheng has money, he could consider installing a high-definition sonar set on his own boat.

Leaving the sonar matter aside for now, the three first put the hairtail into the hold; seeing the hold full to the brim, Ye Cheng estimated it at four or five hundred catties.

All right, the hold is now full; Ye Cheng started to worry, the fish traps and longlines still haven't been retrieved.

"Brother, if we can't, let's head back first, sell the catch, then come get the gear," Xiao Hu suggested.

That seems doable; besides, it's still early, not even noon yet.

"Okay, let's go back first, sell the stuff, then return to collect the rest."

Duan Chunsheng had no objections either; on the way back, he excitedly taught Ye Cheng how to cast the net.

Back at the dock, it happened to be lunchtime, and there weren't many people on the dock.

Ye Cheng ran straight to Lao He's purchasing stall; looking, he saw everyone was eating.

"Lao Er, how'd you come here?"

"How should I know why I came? Are you buying the hairtail or not? Just eating and not doing business?"

"We'll buy it, why not? How much do you have?" He Lao Ban hastily took a couple bites of rice.

"About four or five hundred catties."

"How much?" He Lao Ban nearly spat out a mouthful of rice,

"That much?"

"Aren't you supposed to be setting fish traps? Did you switch to trawling?"

"No, just happened to run into a school of fish and casually cast two nets."

He Lao Ban looked speechless,

"Fine, your casualness is pretty impressive."

After saying that, he called over a few workers, loaded up the truck, and headed together toward Ye Cheng's boat.

"There really are four or five hundred catties." Seeing the hairtail in the hold, He Lao Ban nodded firmly.

As he was speaking, his gaze drifted to the side and he was instantly startled,

"There's also mouse grouper?"

"Yeah, that's from the fish traps; there are also some crabs and shrimp over here—go ahead and take them too, so I don't have to make another trip."

"There's still mouse grouper in the traps; I don't know if your readers will curse you for it." Lao He muttered.

He Lao Ban was busy receiving the goods here; just waiting was boring, so Ye Cheng had Duan Chunsheng stand guard while he and Xiao Hu went to eat at the dock.

Estimating that unloading and weighing would take an hour or two, the two went straight to Wu Pangzi's, ordered a few dishes, and sat down to eat.

"Yo, Lao Er, long time no see—how do you have time to come over at noon today?" Wu Pangzi greeted them; the shop wasn't busy, besides Ye Cheng and company there was another table of four young men who looked like brothers, already almost done eating.

"I happened to bring back some stuff to sell; hurry up and fry us a few quick dishes—we still have to go out to sea later."

"Still going out to sea? It's already this late." Wu Pangzi said while starting to prepare the dishes.

"Yeah, I still have a few fish traps to retrieve. Give me some pork intestines and kidney—actually, make two portions of kidney, pack one to go, I've got someone else who needs to eat."

This Duan Chunsheng strained his back this morning, so we ought to give him a boost.

"Sure! We've got kidney today; I'll make it for you right now."

Xiao Chen skillfully set out bowls and chopsticks for the two, and Ye Cheng asked for two bottles of happy water.

If there were no people, the fatty could still stir-fry a few dishes quickly; in less than ten minutes he had cooked three dishes and served them, all meat dishes.

"You guys eat first; when you're almost done, I'll stir-fry the packed kidney slices for you to eat hot."

Since Duan Chunsheng was still hungry, the two of them didn't hesitate either; they wolfed down the meal, then had the fatty pack it up, and left the restaurant.

After they left, the four young people also finished eating; the older one among them came over to pay.

"Old Wu, who is this? So extravagant—two people eating three meat dishes."

"You don't know this? It's Ye Lao Er from Baiyun Village; that big boat is his. This guy's luck at sea is great—each time he brings in tens of thousands, he's really impressive."

The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took notice; that person, while paying, casually pretended to ask offhandedly.

"At this time, are they still going out to sea?"

Wu the fatty took the money, then shook his head.

"I don't know either; his big boat has been under repair recently, and these past few days it's said he's been setting fish traps and longlines; yesterday he also caught a lot of groupers, so maybe today he's delayed by some sudden matter."

That person nodded, put the change in his pocket, then led the three people out.

"Big brother, are we still going out to sea?" the person behind asked.

"We'll go, but just change up the fun a bit." The big brother gave a sinister chuckle twice.

Speaking of which, Ye Cheng returned to the boat with the packed meals; Lao He over there had already finished tidying up.

"Uncle, you eat first; I and Xiao Hu will watch."

"Specially stir-fried kidney slices for you, to nourish you."

Ye Cheng wore a wicked grin.

Duan Chunsheng couldn't be bothered to say anything about him; the two kids are now basically just talking about their own waists.